Sweet Affliction
by Winter Yuy
Summary: Old enemies return from the pasts of the Ronin Warriors, Lady Ronin Guardians, and the Warriors. Old allies and new armors will all join forces to defeat this evil. Unfortunately, they're holding a trump card against all of the mystical armored warriors.
1. Prolouge

Sweet Affliction  
_Prolouge_

**Disclaimer**: Fire: Since technically Ronin Warriors was abandoned...  
Whispers: Eh, Fire, chica, ya can't do that.  
Fire: Do what?  
Whispers: Claim the RWs as ours. Ya know that shit ain't right.  
Fire: I can dream...

-----------------------------------------

_December 27th. Over a year has passed since the conflict in Germany_.

The crisp night sky was all Hana Rai-Utano was greeted by as she disembarked from the Boeing 747 airplane and onto the loading dock. She pulled her dark green coat tighter around her body as she walked briskly through the Tokyo International Airport. She had truly missed being home. The smells in Japan were different from those of Germany. She couldn't wait to get home and--

A flash off to her left made her turn in that direction. As soon as she did, a horde of reporters surged around the nineteen year old. She frowned at all of the questions being thrown at her and, to top it off, the flashes of light were starting to aggravate her. She moved quickly around the reporters to the exit. She would come back later for her luggage. Hana honestly hadn't expected to be hit with so many reporters. In fact, she calculated that they wouldn't be there at all given the time!

The blonde made her way through the revolving doors and sighed in relief at the sight of Rekino's fire red Toyota 4-Runner. She made a mad dash towards the SUV and jumped in the passengers seat.

"Drive like you stole it, Rekino!"

The mistress of the guardian armor of fire gassed the V-8 engine and promptly stuck her hand out the window giving all of the reports her middle finger. As Rekino pulled out of the parking lot and onto the interstate, Hana buckled her seat belt and let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank God for you."

"Yes, yes, I know. I'm awesome," Rekino laughed as she looked back to switch lanes. The trip home was at least two hours, but with no traffic this late at night, it wouldn't take long. Having someone to drive with was a plus as well. At least she could talk to Hana rather than sing to the songs on the radio.

"Anyways, what the hell was that all about?"

Hana tucked a lock of her loose curly hair behind her ear, "Not really sure myself. I know Thunder and I were followed like crazy in Germany. Hell, even when I was out with daddy they followed us around!"

"Daddy?"

"Duh, Rekino, daddy's in the US Army and stationed in Germany. I thought I told you that."

The ebony haired guardian shrugged her shoulders, "You know I tend to forget things."

They chatted about odds and ends after that. Hana apologized to Rekino for missing her birthday, but the Lady Guardian leader shrugged it off saying that there was always next year. Rekino talked about having to visit her in-laws for Christmas, which had been a the biggest catastrophe of the year. She also mentioned that Kento and Amaya Rei Faun were returning from France sometime tomorrow afternoon while Cye and Josephine Mouri would be returning tomorrow morning. Ryo and Mia Sanada were at the house every shared with Rekino's husband, Rowen Hashiba. When Hana's counterpart, Sage Date, was brought into the discussion, the black haired guardian proceeded to laugh at the horrors he was enduring in America while being around Flash's twin brother and sister, Sammy and Cammy.

"They did that?! Poor Sage."

"Yeah, no shit, right?" Rekino took the exit, stopped, and turned right before continuing. "He says that Flash is testing him to see if he's worthy. I think he's being over dramatic."

Flash Michaels was the leader of The Warriors, a group of eight armored teens who resided in America. Albeit she had only met half of the team, Hana had heard from Sage via email that the other four were great to be around as well.

"That's quite possible."

The two drove in silence for about twenty minutes. The soft bass from the techno music Rekino had playing mixed in with the fast pace of scenery. Hana's midnight blue eyes stayed focused on the night sky. Even though they were miles apart, she knew that her beloved was watching the same sky she was, even if the times were different. She absently twirled the 10 karat gold diamond ring around her finger. It was the most treasured present she had ever been given.

"So, have you set a date yet?"

Nothing got pass the ever watching amethyst eyes of Rekino Hashiba. Hana should have known better than to play with it so openly.

"No, we haven't."

"How is Thunder, by the way?"

Hana smiled giddily, "He's wonderful. I really did have a great time over there. Two weeks went by fast, but it was worth it."

Rekino smiled brightly at her long time friend. The question was lingering at the tip of her tongue, but she didn't want to say it. Hana noticed the way her fellow guardian shifted in her seat anxiously. She sighed.

"Go ahead."

At the red light, Rekino turned to Hana with the look of a five-year-old child, "So, did you do it yet?"

The blonde looked at her leader indigently before giving a sly smirk, "Oh, Rekino! He's so huge! I couldn't get over it when I saw it. He even tore me a little. He made me cum TEN TIMES in an hour! Oh, it was so wonderful."

Either she was too surprised or grossed out, Rekino couldn't even blink as she listened to Hana ramble on. Her facial expressions changed so many times that Hana couldn't tell what her leader was trying to express. After the light turned green, the car stayed still as the Japanese woman just stared at her friend. Finally, when someone honked their horn Rekino shook her head and resumed driving.

Five minutes passed by before the Guardian of Wildfire squeaked out her response.

"Really now..."

Hana laughed. She just couldn't help it. Between the facial expressions and the sound of her voice, Rekino was to die for right now. The youngest of the guardians frowned. She honestly thought that Hana was telling the truth!

"No, Rekino," Hana wiped her eyes, "but he was huge. He didn't make me cum ten times, but for being a virgin, I have to say he knew what he was doing."

Rekino almost hit another car.

"So you DID sleep with him?"

The Lady of Halo rolled her blue eyes and sighed irritably, "Yes, we made love."

A huff from the other woman was all she got as she turned onto another street. They would be home in about forty-five minutes.

"You better watch it, Hana. You may be pregnant."

The healer snorted, "We used protection."

When Rekino shrugged, they both fell silent. The music was the only noise in the car as Hana's mind went wild with possibilities. That night had been filled with such intense sexual emotions that she couldn't exactly remember what had happened. Fact was that, while Hana wasn't by all means a virgin or inexperienced, Thunder had, indeed, been the most gifted male she'd ever been with. His body had been soft to touch despite that he was mostly muscle. He had kissed and touched her like he had the experience of a thousand men. Even she had been surprised at his stamina that first night they made love.

As they pulled up to the Ronin/Guardian manor, time seemed to slow down. Something was still nagging at her.

_I think we used protection..._


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: The property of the Ronin Warrior Characters, and the song in the beginning belong to their perspective owners. All other characters belong to us.**

Sweet Affliction  
Chapter 1 (Rated NE (nearly extreme) for vulgar cussing.)

-----

February 24th, 2003.

-----

_Girl, you looks good  
Won't you back that ass up  
You's a fine motherfucker  
won't you back that ass up  
Call me big daddy when you back that ass up  
Hoe, who is you playing with, back that ass up  
Girl, you looks good, won't you back that ass up_

The hard thumping, wall vibrating, lyrics pummeled out from the surround system, rattling the Koji manor. Hiroshi, one and half years old, sat before the stereo system on the floor, bouncing to the hard and furious fast beat while clapping his hands.

Rekino Sanada, bearer of the Lady Wildfire armor, Guardian of Ryo of the Wildfire-her brother- quickly sauntered into the living room with her hands pressed against her ears. She loved music, but not this shit. It made concentration difficult. Not that Rekino ever concentrated much. Truth was, there were several college application forms that Rekino had to fill out, and if she didn't get them finished by this afternoon, she could very well miss the application deadline.

Of course Rowen had turned his application in weeks ago and ever since then he had been hampering on the others to get theirs done quickly. Under pressure Cye had filled his out and turned his in two days ago. The others were slowly and steadily getting theirs finished, but who knew when all the college application forms would be turned in?

The music was still trying to blow her eardrums into cyber space. Oh great, she had been with Rowen so long she was starting to think like him. Ugh. Rekino shook her head and swiftly turned the stereo off with a push of the stop button. She sighed in relief.

"Fucking A, that shit is horrible!" She looked down at Hiroshi who stared up at her with his big green eyes. "You can't be listening to that crap, Hiroshi."

A furious scolding erupted from an upstairs bedroom and Rekino cringed. Why couldn't Amaya just accept the fact that at times cussing was a required need? She hastily apologized to the Lady Torrent Guardian while, at the same time, mimicking Amaya's lecture. Hiroshi giggled at this.

Rekino sighed. The atrocity of that damn rap song was still pounding in her brain as a blatant memory charging on full speed like a bull wanting to mate. She could kill Josephine for this. Whatever possessed her to buy that damn CD in the first place?

Hiroshi continued to look up at Rekino. "Aun Reeko," he blubbered forth.

Rekino looked back down at him before scooping down and lifting him up into her arms. She cuddled him with a hug, loving him up. Who cared what others thought. To her Hiroshi was the cutest kid she had laid eyes on. And it wasn't because he was her nephew. Okay, maybe it was because of that.

"We're gonna need to get you some better quality music, Hiroshi. None of this rap crap that Josephine likes." Rekino wrinkled her nose in disgust which made Hiroshi laugh and clap his hands.

-----

Turning, turning, turning. Why wouldn't it stop? All day long, her stomach kept turning over and over, squeezing tight, then releasing. It flip flopped and gurgled. It surged upward, then back down. And the dizziness. She shut her eyes tightly, feeling the room spin uncontrollably around her, powerless to stop it.

Her head pounded violently. Had it been from the music blaring downstairs earlier? Perhaps so, but it was hard saying. She felt so sick. And Halo's Light did not bring much comfort to her.

Hana clutched her stomach and moaned to herself. The stomach flu. This is what it had to be. She could have sworn she had heard someone in the city announce that it was going around. What a fine time to be sick.

And then it came. That all too familiar feeling of something rushing from her stomach and into her esophagus. She turned pale and with a hand over her mouth ran to the bathroom where she pushed Cye out of her way before going inside.

Cye felt uneasy as he pushed himself from the wall he had been slammed into. Something was wrong, he realized. Hana never forced anyone out of her way unless she was protecting them. He rubbed a shoulder with a grimace and looked toward the bathroom in distraught as his sea green eyes widened.

"Hana," he called after clearing his throat. "Are you okay?"

The Lady of Halo's only reply was the horrible sound regurgitating the supper they had eaten two hours ago. It continued. Cye frowned and turned his head away. It wasn't easy listening to Hana vomit her dinner up, and he wondered if the food had simply disagreed with her. After all, his cooking was still top notch.

Cye was getting concerned with every horrendous sound coming from Hana. Not knowing what else to do, he decided to get Rekino. He hurried downstairs, calling for Rekino. "Rekino, I think you might want to head up to the bathroom!"

"Why would I want to do that? I don't have to go." Rekino raised an eyebrow at Cye the moment he had come into the living room. Had he completely lost it?

"I think you should," Cye said seriously, his brow furrowing. "Hana's sick."

Rekino quickly handed Hiroshi to Cye and made a dash up the stairs. Cye watched her go as he shifted Hiroshi to his other side. Was it his fault that Hana was sick? Once again, the self blame hit him hard. Any other time, he was not one to blame himself for things he had no control over.

But what if this one time he was at fault? It was hard to focus.

"I hope she won't need to go to the hospital," Cye said softly as he looked down at Hiroshi.

"Hosital!" Hiroshi cooed and bounced in Cye's arms.

Cye smiled weakly at Hiroshi's attempt to speak. Even at one year old, he was pretty easy to understand. Well, most of the time any how. His thoughts turned to Hana. What was taking Rekino so long?

-----

Hana rested against the toilet with the side of her face against the seat. Her face was pale and flushed. She was sweating.

Rekino stood in the doorway, momentarily looking at Hana's condition before stepping fully into the bathroom. "Damn, Hana. Why the hell didn't ya tell anyone ya were sick?" She grabbed a clothe and ran it under cold water. After wringing out excess water, she folded it and wiped Hana's face.

"Because I didn't think to," Hana moaned. Her stomach felt awful, a tight knot. What was wrong with her?

"How long have ya felt like this?" Rekino asked.

"I think since this morning," Hana answered. She was starting to get tired of sitting there. Her bed was sounding more and more appropriate the more she thought about it.

"Did ya skip a period or anything?" Rekino was getting suspicious.

"I don't think so," Hana murmured as she struggled to get to her feet. Her knees buckled and Rekino quickly caught her. "Thanks, Rekino." Hana managed a small smile.

"What are friends for?" Rekino said as she helped Hana walk back to her room. She helped her to lie down in bed and covered her up.

"Rekino, do you think it's just the stomach flu?" Hana asked weakly.

"Hon, I think you're pregnant!" Rekino said before leaving the room to grab a bucket for Hana to use.

Hana grew quiet as she watched Rekino leave. _Pregnant?_

_-----  
_

Ryo bobbed his head in time to the music as he drove through a business district. The weather was nice, the Cherry Blossoms in full bloom. And work had been great. He could barely wait to tell Mia and everyone the excellent news he had received today. He signaled left to go up the exit ramp to get to the freeway. Once on the freeway, he shifted the Toyota Camry into high gear and floored it, speeding forward and passing other speeding vehicles.

This was the life. Cruising down the freeway with the convertible top down, the wind blowing his raven locks behind him, the feel of the wind on his face. Work had been particularly interesting, particularly when one of the Japanese Macaques somehow got out of its enclosure and lead the Zoo staff on a wild chase throughout the zoo.

It had taken an hour to catch the animal and secure it back into its enclosure. What a day it had been indeed.

His exit was coming up and Ryo signaled to go right. A semi truck was coming up along side him, and he sighed. In a hurry that he was to get home to his wife and son and to his friends, he knew better than to move out in front of a truck with such large proportions. The truck was agonizingly slow though. Ryo tapped his fingers against the steering wheel as he slowed down to avoid passing up his exit. The truck moved ahead, faster now that Ryo had slowed down. The vehicles behind Ryo began to move out from behind him, passing him on the left side.

Ryo sighed. How long did it take a semi truck carrying logs to pass? This was ridiculous. A horn blared behind Ryo and he fought the urge to flip the rude driver off as it raced around him, with tires spinning. The nerve of some people.

The truck crawled a bit more and finally after an exceedingly long time -according to Ryo-it moved on ahead, passing the exit and making room for Ryo to get behind it in the lane he needed. "About time," he muttered as he signaled and soon got on the exit, heading toward the district which would take him home in one straight shot. Ten miles to go and he would be there.

The city lay out before him with its metropolitan landscape looming in the distance. Buildings scraped the sky, seeming to disappear into the endless blue hue. Traffic buzzed about like colonies of ants coming to and fro and pedestrians intermingled in and out, carrying on busily. Toyama, although not as large as Tokyo or Shinjuku, was by its own right an industrious city that operated mostly on seafood importing and exporting. There were some other markets the city focused on, but seafood operation was the main industry here.

The roads were a blur as Ryo drove through the city, following the usual trail to the outskirts of the city where his wife and his son and everyone else waited. The long hours he spent at the zoo would soon reward him with Mia's embrace and Hiroshi's giggle.

The foliage of trees and shrubbery began to thicken into woods and the highway stretched into a lone long road with less traffic as it twisted and turned, dipping down and twisting back up as it began to clear into what appeared to be a deeper setting of a cul-de-sac, at least to the untrained eye.

The Koji property was laid out in rolling fields surrounded by a forest in a triangular point with a mountain wall that closed it off from behind. Behind the property was a private lake where they swam on occasion and private cabins they used once in a while. Truly, it was beautiful here, and even more beautiful when the sun rose to shine its vibrant colors across the rapidly lightening sky.

Ryo slowed his speed down enough to turn left onto the driveway hidden by more foliage and shifted to adjust the gears to the low grade and drove downward onto the property. The driveway leveled out and became flatter as he drove forward and soon parked beside Mia's jeep. He sighed as he turned the ignition off. It was good to be home.

Eagerly he climbed out of the car and went inside the manor. "I'm home!" he announced.

"Oh hey, Ryo," Cye greeted as he turned to look at Ryo. Hiroshi was still in his arms, but he was reaching out for his father with eager arms. Cye handed him over immediately. "I wouldn't advise going upstairs," he suggested to Ryo.

"Why not?" Ryo asked as he held Hiroshi, cooing at him with tickling fingers. Hiroshi giggled, twisting and bouncing in his father's arms.

"Hana's sick," Cye explained with a frown. "Rekino's up there with her now, but I haven't heard anything from her. They've been up there for quite some time."

"I wouldn't worry too much," Ryo said. "She probably has the flu. Some guys at work said it was going around."

"Hm," Cye said with a nod. "Yes, you're probably right."

"Phew!" Ryo suddenly wrinkled his nose in disgust when the horrible smell rose into the air. Hiroshi bounced, suddenly a bit heavier on the bottom. "Hol-"

"Ryo Sanada, if you dare sprout that blasphemous word out, so help me, I'll give you the beating you deserve!" Amaya threatened from somewhere upstairs.

Ryo grinned like a school boy as he carried Hiroshi to the changing table and laid him down on it. "Time to change that stinky poo," he said as he took out what he needed.

"Poo!" Hiroshi kicked his legs into the air.

Cye smiled, shaking his head. Thankfully, his own child was fast asleep. These days it seemed Josephine had taken to napping with Devon at a particular time, oft around two o' clock in the afternoon. Now it was going on nearly five thirty, and soon she would wake up and breastfeed.

Still Cye worried about Josephine's health. She ate less at times, preferring to stay with Devon all the time, while at other times she tended to push him away as if not wanting to have anything to do with him. Mia had told him it was just a phase that should be expected, but the worry would not die so easily, and Cye was a natural worrier at times.

He excused himself from Ryo and Hiroshi- who was now freshly changed and playing tug-of-war with Ryo's long hair, which Mia and Hana had threatened to take scissors to- and headed down the little hallway passage to the extra room Josephine had decided to use as a bedroom/nursery.

He went in, softly calling Josephine's name, but not receiving an answer. Music from the mobile above Devon's crib played a soft melody, combined with Josephine's loud snoring. Cye smiled and chuckled to himself as he bent and kissed her forehead, then checked on Devon. Sound asleep too.

_Should I wake them? _ he thought to himself. _But they look so peaceful, and Josephine has mentioned to me her exhaustion. She deserves this. If Devon wakes up, I'll take care of him and give her the day off, even if she complains I do too much as it is._

Too much. The words echoed in the back of Cye's mind as just two days prior, Josephine had argued with Cye the importance of rest, and insisted he take a day off now and then. With his six day work week full time, combined with cooking and cleaning the house, taking Devon for a few hours each day, Josephine feared that Cye was going to work himself right into a hospital. But now it seemed oddly enough that Josephine was the one who was always fatigued, always grouching until after her nap. At times she would even cry for no reason at all, very unprincipled of her.

Post partum depression, Rowen had told him just yesterday. It explained Josephine's mood swings, her lack of hunger, and her constant fatigue. The entire understanding of post partum depression baffled Cye, but who was he to disagree with Rowen? All Cye knew was that he felt troubled every time he saw Josephine's tears, and sometimes she would cry for no reason at all.

What was he to do?

What?

Cye did not know the answer to that underlying dark cloud of a question. He heard grunts and walked to the crib, peering down into it. Devon was kicking his legs and making squinting faces. Cye waited to see if perhaps he would fall back into a deeper sleep. Such was not the case.

Devon started wailing at the top of his lungs.

Josephine shot awake. "Motherfucker!" she snarled as she punched her pillow.

"Honey, please relax," Cye said as he scooped Devon up into his arms to calm his crying.

"No, I won't fucking relax!" Josephine spat vehemently. She pointed her finger at Devon. "I'm sick and tired of that… that thing always bawling its damn eyes out!"

"Josephine," Cye said softly as his eyes looked dismal.

"Take him out of here," Josephine ordered as Devon's crying increased in volume. "Take him out before I snap his neck.. NOW!"

Cye was stupefied as the very idea of Josephine even considering harming Devon nearly sent him over the edge of the cliff. How could she even think of doing such a thing to their baby? Their son? He wanted to go off on her, tell her she needed to stop and think about what she was saying. Get her to listen to reason. But there was no chance of that. In this mood, she would never listen to him.

Cye hurried out of the room with the crying Devon, closing the door behind him. He heard Josephine bawling in the bedroom and leaned against the closed door, feeling frustrated. What was he going to do?


	3. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: The property of the Ronin Warrior Characters, and the song in the beginning belong to their perspective owners. All other characters belong to us.**

Sweet Affliction

Chapter 2 (Rated NE (nearly extreme) for vulgar cussing.)

February 25th, 2003.

* * *

"_Sorry I haven't had much time to call. How are things in the East side of the world?"_

Sage Date laughed at the melodic voice of his girlfriend, Flash Michaels, as he drove home from his family dojo. It seemed like he hadn't heard her speak in ages when, in reality, it'd only been last week when he'd last talked to her.

"I suppose they're okay. Josephine has been going through some difficult situations with Devon. Rowen says it's postpartum depression."

"_Ouch."_

The blond turned on his blinker, merging into the road, "Yeah, it's been hard on Cye. He doesn't know what to do."

He heard some rustling on the other side of the phone, _"Well, I hope she gets better."_

The bearer of Halo knew the Hardrock Guardian would probably get worse before she got better. Hopefully, with a little encouragement from the rest of the house, Josephine would go seek some professional help.

"How are things on your side?"

"_Crazy. College is exciting, though. By the way, Sammy and Cammy miss you. They want to know when you're coming back."_

Sage grimaced at the mention of "the little terror tots" as he called them. When he had spent time with Flash in America over the Christmas holidays the twins had done some of the most unthinkable things. Things he didn't want to mention or even think about. He shuddered. Thinking about that had almost made him miss his turn towards the Ronin/Guardian manor.

"I'll be back during the summer unless some cataclysmic event causes us to all get together again."

"_Please, Sage, don't joke about that kind of stuff," _the brunette huffed into the phone. _"The last thing I need is an evil overlord knocking on my door. No thanks, I'll pass. I'll take being trapped in a room full of _reptiles_ and studying music history than fighting again."_

He thought that his girlfriend was going to jump through the phone when he started laughing at her over dramatics. He pulled his dark green Mitsubishi Eclipse next to Hana's identical colored Ford Explorer Sport.

"Oh, have you talked to Thunder lately?"

"_Yeah, spoke with him a couple of days ago. He's been busy himself with princedom and all. He doesn't have much time to himself these days, but he called to give me the routine check-in. Has Hana not talked to him?"_

"Not sure," Sage gathered his bags as he got out of the car and hit the button on the key to lock it. "Hana hasn't been doing well lately. I've noticed she's a little bigger and eats more than she should. She's been sick for a couple of days, too. She thinks it's the stomach flu. Rekino thinks otherwise."

"_Well, good luck with that. What's the worst that could happen?"_

"Hm, I could think of several things," as he walked up the path to the door, his smiled brightened. "I love you."

She laughed; it sounded like music. When she spoke his heart fluttered and skipped a beat like it did every time.

"_I love you too, dummy."_

* * *

"By the shiny head of Buddah!" Amethyst eyes widened and looked at the man across the room with dark blue eyes. He was a foot taller than her with hair that matched his eye color that had a small strand resting on the bridge of his nose.

"How many of these damn applications do you want me to fill out?"

Rowen Hashiba looked at his wife indigently while clearing his throat, "It's necessary to have a back-up plan in case you're not accepted into the college that you want, Rekino."

"Oh, for fuck's sake," the raven haired teen rolled her eyes. "I think this is over doing it, honey."

"It's called preparation, _dear_."

Rekino returned her gaze to the dozen or so college applications laying on the desk in their bedroom. She smacked her lips while devising a plan to get out of doing this crap like she did every time.

"Whatever. I'll do them tomorrow. I got-"

The master of the armor of air shook his head, "You're doing them now."

The leader in Rekino made her straighten to her full height of a mere five foot. She wasn't about to be told what to do by anyone even if the aforementioned was her husband. With a defiance and stubborn nature only someone of the Sanada bloodline possessed, she placed her hands on her hips.

"No."

"Rekino," Rowen massaged his temples, "I'll tie you to this chair."

"Really?" The mistress of fire chuckled. "You just want an excuse to have your hands on me."

The man huffed and stared at his beautiful wife. Rekino had always been one for procrastination. She lived by the motto of "why do it now when you can do it later?" and it annoyed him to no end. As he took in her form, he had to keep the smirk to himself. If he had to play that sort of game, then so be it.

He advanced on her with the grace of a cat, "Now that you mention it, Rekka-chan, we haven't had much time to ourselves lately."

The pet name that he had for her always worked and it was no different this time. She fell into his arms as her hands explored his body. He kissed her passionately making no room for mistakes. Cautiously, he maneuvered their position to where her back was to the desk.

"Rowen...ROWEN!" Rekino was caught off guard as she was lifted off of the ground and her end was placed delicately in the chair. "You tricked me!"

"All's fair in love and war," he smoothed down her ruffled hair and handed her a pen. "Now, get to work."

With a look that could kill, Rekino took the pen from her husband and began filling out the paperwork all the while cussing his existence. Rowen merely laughed watching as she worked.

* * *

Mia Sanada sat in the living room of her home as she playfully bounced her son on her knees, getting joyful laughs out of the toddler. Beside her on the love seat, Cye fed his five month old son as his guardian, Amaya Rei Faun, sat beside him feeding her daughter, Chi.

"I just don't know what to do about Josephine," Cye lowered his eyes to his child, watching the baby as he spoke. "She threatened to snap his neck yesterday."

Amaya frowned at her fellow Torrent warrior. Her soft French accent filled the quiet room, "That doesn't sound like her at all. Josephine would never do that to a child, especially her own."

"Postpartum depression," Mia said under her breath. She focused her green eyes on the other two occupants of the room. "If that's the case then she needs to go to a doctor. She needs medical help."

"That's the problem," the British brunette stopped feeding Devon and sat up on his his legs, patting his back. "She says that she doesn't need help. When I talk to her about it she just gets angry."

The three sat in silence. The clock on the wall chimed before Amaya spoke. Her soft hazel eyes held a sort of hard resolve.

"I'll talk to her. I was friends with Josephine for many years before we became guardians."

Cye looked at his guardian with concern, "I feel bad, 'Maya. You shouldn't worry yourself with this."

"Don't worry about it," the French woman smiled sweetly. "I'm your guardian, after all, and she is my dear friend. I'll put Chi down for the night and go have a talk with her."

She stood with the grace of a ballet dancer and headed upstairs. Cye watched with concern in his sea-green eyes. He felt responsible for this, after all. If he had just spent more time at home with his family rather than at work maybe this wouldn't have happened. Maybe...

Mia's voice broke his thoughts.

"What's up, Hana?"

Cye turned just as Hana Rai-Utano stepped off the stairs. For a moment, he thought he saw something protruding from under her shirt. He shook his head. Yes, Hana had been weird lately. He'd noticed that she had been eating more recently. She was often sick in the mornings and, not to mention, her mood swings.

Was it possible?

"Just come down to get something to eat. I'm craving a peanut butter and banana sandwich with a little bit of mayonnaise and some kind of potato chips," the blonde Halo guardian shrugged. "It sure is quiet around here. Where is everyone?"

Mia stood and moved to the rocking chair in the den. Hiroshi yawned, rubbing his eyes as he did so. Before the Strata guardian even got a good momentum, the child was fast asleep with his head resting on her shoulder.

"Ryo, Kento, and Sage are out back practicing. I think Rowen mentioned something about forcing Rekino to fill out college applications."

The blonde laughed, "Rekino and those applications. She's only got until tomorrow afternoon to get them done. She'll have to run around town in order to turn them in."

While the two women laughed out loud, the master of the armor of water held on to his son while his gaze remained upstairs. He prayed that Josephine wouldn't hurt Amaya...or herself.

* * *

Amaya stood outside of Josephine's door clutching the rosary her grandfather had given her before he passed on to the Lord. Pocketing the jewelry, she took in a deep breath to steady herself. Saying a silent prayer, she rapped her fingers on the door lightly. When she didn't get an answer, she knocked again only louder.

"Who is it?" came the muffled reply.

"It's me, Jo. Can I talk to you for a second?"

The French woman thought she heard her friend curse followed by the sound of footsteps. She heard the door _click_, signaling that it was open, and made her way into the room. Josephine had quickly made her way across the room and was sitting at a desk with her back to the door. Amaya bit her lip. How do you go about this type of conversation?

"How are you feeling?"

"Fine. What do you want, Amaya? I know you didn't just come up here to have friendly visit."

"_Postpartum depression symptoms include: sadness, hopelessness, low self esteem, emptiness, social withdrawal, easy frustration, and spells of angers towards others. There are others, but most women have those symptoms. If Josephine is sick, she needs help before she hurts Devon or herself._"

Rowen's words echoed in her mind. When Josephine had first started showing signs, Cye voiced his opinion at dinner one night, which prompted the local dictionary/encyclopedia to spurt out the facts of PPD. Amaya honestly hadn't spoken to Josephine much since they both had their children, but when they did spend time together the guardian of water hadn't sensed anything wrong with her friend. But now, she knew something was different.

Josephine turned around and Amaya could tell just by looking in her eyes this wasn't her friend. "Just cut the chit-chat, 'Maya, and tell me what you want."

Okay, fine, if the Hardrock Guardian wanted to play hardball, then she was stepping up to the plate. Taking the stance her mother always did when she was getting a lashing of the tongue, Amaya planted her hands on her hips while straightening her back.

"I think that you need to see a doctor."

Josephine rolled her eyes, "Nothing is wrong with me! I'm-"

"When you were pregnant with Devon," Amaya made sure she didn't raise her voice or show hostility, "you were so happy. You couldn't wait until he was born. You bought all types clothes and picked out the bed. You _knew_ it was going to be a boy. You even knew I would have a girl. I didn't want to question it, so I went along with you because you were _happy_."

Josphine stayed quite, her eyes reflecting her anger and, what appeared to be, sadness. Amaya's empathic abilities were now flooding with emotions emitting from her. She walked over to her friend to allow her energy to flow into her to along with her words.

"In the hospital, you cried when you held him for the first time. At the moment, I thought you were crying tears of happiness, but were they sadness? Tell me, Josephine. Talk to me. I've been your friend for almost ten years. Doesn't that mean anything to you?"

"Of course! I just don't know. Amaya, I..."

"Your son deserves your love! You've barely spent any time with Devon. He's five months old, now, and so beautiful. He's smart, too. And Cye has been blaming himself. Jo, he loves you more than anything in this world. He's sharing his life with you. Don't you think Devon should be able to as well? Or do you want your son to grow up not knowing a mother's love?"

_Crack_. And she broke down. The toughest, hardest of all the Guardians broke down into tears. Gigantic teardrops spilled out of her eyes and onto the carpet. Amaya wasted no time in wrapping her arms around her friend as she cried and wailed as loud as she could. She was muttering incoherently into Amaya's bosom while clinging to the others shirt.

"Shh. It's okay, Jo. Just let it all out."

"Help me, 'Maya. I do-don't want to feel thi-this way anymore!"

The guardian of the armor of water just stroked her friend's blue hair, rocking her back and forth. She made a promise to call a doctor, then started humming. It was a sweet melody her mother had taught her when she was a little girl.

All the while, Josephine continued to cry while Amaya held her tight.

* * *

After polishing off her delicious sandwich, Hana had made her way outside, passing the training trio, to her favorite meditation spot in the woods. The energies of the world had been pushing her to mediate lately so, with a full belly, she made her decision. Maybe this would help her body she thought as she passed by several trees and brush until she arrived at her spot. She had been feeling sick lately.

The blonde stretched before sitting down on a big, flat surfaced rock, crossing her legs. Normally, mediation would be done with clothes that were lose and relaxing, but having done it for so many years, Hana could drop into the alpha state of consciousness without any effort at all. A flick of the wrist or click of a tongue was all it took, but today was different. _Something_ was different.

Clearing her mind of all thoughts, she took to listening to the sounds of the late evening. Birds, crickets, and the running water of a small creek. A miniscule thought would enter her mind for a brief moment before she acknowledge it and let it pass. Clearing the human mind was impossible so she tended to focus on whatever came to her mind briefly before dismissing it. Then, all was quiet.

Her body went lax as conscious was thrust into the "ebb and flow of the world" as she called it. She was in a place that wasn't a place, a land that wasn't a land. With her feet firmly planted on nothing, she watched the currents of the ether flow past her in vivid, shining colors. Reaching out a hand, she touched one particular beautiful strand that stood out more than others. Her mind filled with images and she was thrust into another plane.

_Thunder_. She saw him at the palace drinking tea, training, riding horses, and sleeping. Everything about him was passing through her waking consciousness. His musical voice vibrated everything about her. His fluid body movements sent a shiver of desire down her spine. When he turned to her and whispered her name, she wanted to answer back.

Then, a dark shadow shrouded his face and he disappeared. Panic set in. She searched the currents for him, but found nothing. Suddenly, she was standing on a blood battlefield. She saw her friends bodies around her, unmoving, with the bodies of the Warriors. Then, blonde caught her eyes and she ran towards it. She knew it was him.

"Thunder!"

Taking to her knees, she rolled him over. He cracked open his eyes, his breathing harsh and shallow. Tears welled up in her own midnight orbs as she stroked his hair. Blood. There was so much blood and death. What had done this? WHO had done this?

"Oh God, what happened?"

"Ha...na..." Lifting his shaking hand, he placed it on her cheek. "I'm sor...ry. I tr-tried to protect her..."

"Who? Who are you talking about?"

Then a dark, looming figure stood over her, flanked by nine others. She couldn't see their faces, but their mere presence was alarming. She shuddered at the raw power they all possessed. The leader started laughing, low at first, then his voice rose. Hana suddenly wanted to vomit.

Crying emitted from out of no where. _A baby_? Hana couldn't think, couldn't move. The only people she knew with a baby were Mia, Amaya, and Josephine. Looking to the monster, she noticed that he held a small bundle in his arms. It was wrapped in a blanket, kicking it's little legs and flailing it's arms.

"Thank you for the gift, Lady Halo and Storm."

The blanket shifted to reveal a small child dressed into a beautiful white gown. A girl. A beautiful blonde haired, fair skinned girl. Like a sword being shoved through her gut, realization dawned on Hana as she took in the newborn child.

On the blanket was the crest of the royal family. Thunder's family.

Hana's consciousness was thrust back into her body so hard, so fast that she started choking. Bile rose in her throat remembering the images she had seen. She got to her feet hastily and walked shakily to a brush before promptly vomiting the contents of her stomach.

After ten minutes, her body was still heaving as if she could vomit more. She staggered back from the brush to fall ungracefully on the ground. God help her, she was shaking and sweating. Her body was still trying to process what all she saw. Was it a premonition? She didn't know. All she knew for sure was that she wanted to find out what was wrong with her body, but she got that disturbing scene instead.

Then it hit her. _A child with blonde hair and fair skin wrapped in a blanket with the crest of the royal family_.

A hand went to her stomach. Could it be? Was the world showing her what was wrong? If that was the case, why had it been like that? Why those images? Who was that man flanked by nine other people? What had happened to her friends?

Hana stood faster than she should have and took off running towards the manor. She had to find out if her hunch was correct.

* * *

Lady Kayura walked the grounds of the Dynasty garden with a frown. Her kimono flowed behind her as she Ancient Staff's rings chimed with the rhythm of stride. Her mind was exploding, her body was restless. Something was wrong with the world.

A disturbing dream of blood and destruction had plagued her this night. The Ronin Warriors and Lady Guardians had all been dead, along with their comrades in arms, The Warriors. Bodies littered streets across the world. Was this the sign of a new enemy invading?

Not wanting to take any chances, Kayura headed back towards the castle with the intent to let the Warlords and the others know. If there was going to be an invasion, she was going to make sure she and her comrades were ready.

The rings on the Ancient's Staff started going crazy, chiming together. She stopped in her tracks when a shadowed figure stood before the door of her home. She couldn't see a face, but she knew that he evil and evil wasn't welcome.

"State your business here, harbinger of evil!"

"Your death."

With that, Kayura readied herself for an attack as the enemy flew at her with blinding speed.

* * *

A year in the making! I hope this makes up for it. Like this chapter? Review to get another one! Love and hugs to everyone!


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